House



(No Model.)

A. E. WOODHOUSE.

GRAIN BINDER.

N0. 450,346. Patented Apr. 14,1891.

INVENTOR UNITED STATES PATENT Prion.

ALBERT ERNEST YVOODHOUSE, OF AMBERLEY, NEW ZEALAND.

GRAIN-BINDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 450,346, dated April14, 1891.

Application filed April 10, 1890- Serial No. 347,393. (No model.)Patented in New Zealand April 17, 1889, No. 3,644, and in England August9,1889, No. 10,716.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALBERT ERNEST WooD- HOUSE, asubject of the Queen ofGreat Britain, and a resident of Amberley, in the Provincial District ofCanterbury, in the Colony of New Zealand, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in a Grain-Binder, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to an improved knotter for twine-binding in reapingand harvestin g machines; and it consists in a single piece or partmounted upon an intermittently revolving or vibrating shaft and providedwith a suitable slot or opening for engaging the twine.

This invention has been patented to me in New Zealand, No. 3,644, datedApril 17, 1889, gtnjdsigigGreat Britain, No. 10,716, dated AugustReferring to the drawings, Figures 1 to 4 are side views of my improvedknotter, illustrating four stages in the formation of a knot, and Fig. 5is a front end view.

The knotting cylinder or head'B is mounted upon the end of a shaft A andextends 1aterally therefrom at substantially a right angle with theshaft. The shaft A receives an intermittent rotary or vibratory motionfrom a wheel or sector-gear in the usual manner. Asthere are numerouswell-known forms of driving mechanism for this purpose, I have thoughtit unnecessary to illustrate any, as my invention does not relatethereto.

The knotting-cylinder B is preferably circular in section and tapered orconical at its outer end. A transverse groove or slot is formed in theside of the cylinder at or near the point where it begins to taper. Thisslot is of such size in cross-section that two strands of cord willnearly or quite fill it withoutprotruding. In its longitudinal directionit is preferably spiral or inclined upwardly away from the shaft A,supposing the shaft to extend vertically from the head B, for purposesof description. The upper end of the slot terminates in the taperedupper surface of the head. The bottom of the slot is preferably madewider and deeper at its upper end, as shown 'at 3, so that the strandsof cord within the slot at this point may ofier no resistance to thepassage of the loop over them.

In its transverse direction the walls of the slot are inclined away fromthe shaft and toward the tapered end of the head, thus forming anundercut portion or lip 4 upon its outer side.

The operation of tying the knot may now be understood. In Fig. 1 theposition of the cord is shown just after the needle has encircled thegavel and delivered the cord to the grasper or holder and before theknotter has begun to revolve, the strands m w of cord lying over theknotting-cylinder between the slot- 2 and the shaft A. Fig. 2 shows theposition of the parts after the knotter has made a half-revolution, thestrands m being twisted or turned once around the shank of the cylinder.In Fig. 3 the knotter is shown as having completed its revolution,coming back to the position shown in Fig. 1. During the. latter half ofthe revolution the strands of cord between the cylinder and the grasperor cord-holder are caught under the overhanging lip 4 and forced intothe slot 2. While the cord is in this position it is severed by thecutter, and the ejector begins its operation in the usual manner. Fig. 4represents the knot being stripped from the knotter, the free ends ofthe cord formed by the action of the cutter being still held by the hook4, which causes them to be drawn through the loop of the knot Thetapering form of the end makes it very easy for the knot to slip offfrom the cylinder as the gavel is being ejected.

My invention is particularly applicable to machines in which the knottermakes a complete revolution forward and then backward, instead of alwaysrevolving in the same direction, as the backward movement aids theejector in stripping the knot from the knotting-cylinder and-releasingthe cut ends from the slot, it being understood that in the forwardmovement the slotted side of the knotter is in front, and vice versa. v

Without limiting myself to the precise construction shown, I claim- 1.The combination, Wi th an intermittentlyrotating shaft, of aknotting-head having a transverse slot in one side thereof, said slotbeing inclined away from said shaft to form a lip 4, substantially asdescribed.

2. The combination, with an intermittentlyrotating shaft, of aknotting-head having a spirally-disposed slot in one side thereof, saidslot being inclined away from said shaft to form a lip 4, substantiallyas described.

3. The combination, With an intermittentlyrotating shaft, of aknotting-head having a tapered end and a transverse slot terminating atone end in the tapered portion, said slot being inclined away from saidshaft to form a lip 4, substantially as described.

4;. The combination, With an intermittentlyrotating shaft, of aknotting-head having a

